Autograph letter signed by members of a committee of the Mercantile Library Association of Brooklyn, one page, written on association stationery and dated Brooklyn, May 8, 1861, addressed to “Dr. Crawford, U.S.A.” The letter invites the recipient to deliver a public lecture recounting the recent siege of Fort Sumter, scarcely one month after the opening shots of the American Civil War. An exceptional early-war document demonstrating the intense public fascination with the Confederate bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter in April 1861. Written only weeks after the event, the letter seeks a firsthand narrative from a participant and reflects the Northern public’s eagerness for authoritative information about the crisis that had propelled the nation into war. The committee explains that public interest in the attack and the absence of any complete, reliable account prompted the request. They specifically ask Dr. Crawford to address both the Association and the citizens of Brooklyn on the events surrounding the siege. In part: “The undersigned in behalf of the Mercantile Library of Brooklyn would respectfully invite you to deliver before the Association and the Citizens of Brooklyn an account of the siege of Fort Sumter…” and “…the historic importance of this memorable event and the absence as yet of any complete authoritative relation of all that occurred, have induced them to make this request of you, who bore so honorable a part in the action.” The recipient was almost certainly Dr. Samuel Wylie Crawford (1827–1892), Assistant Surgeon, U.S. Army, one of the most prominent defenders of Fort Sumter. During the bombardment Crawford famously left his medical duties to command artillery and infantry positions, becoming one of the best-known Union officers associated with the fort's defense. He would later rise to the rank of Major General and remain a celebrated figure in Civil War memory. Signed by members of the committee, including James Horne, on behalf of the Association. The letter provides valuable evidence of how rapidly veterans of Fort Sumter became public celebrities and how civic institutions sought to preserve and disseminate eyewitness testimony during the opening weeks of the conflict. Condition: Single folded sheet with minor toning and wear from handling and folding. Clean and highly legible. Very good condition. An evocative Fort Sumter artifact, linking one of the fort’s defenders with Brooklyn’s civic and intellectual community at the very beginning of the Civil War, when firsthand accounts of the bombardment were still rare and eagerly sought by the public.
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Mercantile Library Association Brooklyn May 8. 1861 Dr. Crawford U.S.A. Dear Sir The undersigned in behalf of the Mercantile Library of Brooklyn would respectfully invite you to deliver before the Association and the Citizens of Brooklyn an account of the siege of Fort Sumter. Aside from public interest, the historic importance of this memorable event, and the absence as yet of any complete authoritative relation of all that occurred, have induced them to make this request of you, who bore so honorable a part in the action. They trust you will find it in your power to give a favorable reply, leaving to your own convenience the selection of the time. They remain With respect Your Obdt Servts James Horne R. C. [?] John Ray Howard Committee &c
